Here is the Great Corn Palace in Mitchell,S.D. Pictures are hard to down load here , more in a couple of days. I hope!! I got some great shots the past 2 days...Corn Palace, Wagon works, Badlands ,188o Old Town more about this later...gotta travel...to Mt.Rushmore got here last night AT MIDNIGHT..HIT THE SACK .. More later when I can!!... below is the Blog from Wednesday .. see ya ..

July 15,Wednesday, Another beautiful day 75-80* sunny, great day to see the sights. Off to the world famous Corn Palace in Mitchell,SD. We arrive to free parking and free admission,there are workers outside updating the design of corn on the building. We went inside to see pictures and murals of past years of the palace. This building is also a concert,gym, and all around entertainment facility. In the auditorium they have a gift shop with everything portable, so they can open all the floor area for concerts,etc. We saw a 15 minute film on the history and then a short tour in the arena telling us about all the murals(in Corn) on the walls and their design artists.

I found out there is a carriage maker 7 miles from town,that sounded like it was worth a trip to see. We arrived to a yard of old buck boards, all sorts of wagons of yesteryear. I went in the office to see if we can see the place. The owner said sure, he summond his daughter to give the tour. She showed us the shop where they make the spoke wheels from repair or made brand new. Also the work shop of woodworking, metal blacksmithing, and painting as well as upholstering of the seats. In the storage barn we saw old wagons waiting for restoring. There was even a sheep herder wagon ( Thats' how Wally Byam started), also beautiful Stage Coach (Wells Fargo), I didn't know that John Deere started as a wagon company, also Studebaker too. We had a great tour around the place of the Old West Products. The wagons were impressive and a work of Art!! I took some pictures.

We then headed back to town stopping at a tractor display for sale..picture time.. then onto a the Mitchell Lake Waterfall..beautiful waterfall over the wall. Then I got to see a Green Dino (Sinclair Gas), then a Jackalope. I even got to sit on the jackalope..Picture time... back to the airstream to relax. We are leaving tomorrow for Mt.Rushmore 300 miles away, I made reservations for 4 days there because of the weekend traffic of campgrounds filling up fast.I actually got the last space only because of a cancellation(whew).
God Bless...AirstreamHobo and Carol

Warning!!! You have been SPAMMED!!!

July 13,Monday, Happy Birthday Riley (my grandson is 6 today!!!). We tried to leave by 8 am but pulled out of the drive at 8:30 from our Hosts,Bob & Heidi Manak, the past 4 days. They were great hosts for letting us stay in their driveway. On sat nite Carol and I took them to their favorite pasta resturant. We all ordered Lasagna..Tasty!!! Yum, Yum.. then afterwards , we went down the street to Kopps for ice cream custard. The place was packed!! Bob said this place is even busy during the cold winter months(great custard too!). Well time to say good-bye...

We are now offically west of the Mississippi River, We did stop at the rest stop there to eat a lunch on the picnic tables and watch the river flow. We covered 375 miles today and arrived at Myre Island State Park for the nite ..$27.00(ouch!!). They charge extra for out of state residents and also a daily park pass..so $22.00 & 5.00 pass. The park was nice but not many campers.

We leave at 10 am and head to The Spam Museum to read all about Hormel Foods maker of "Spam"...Very interesting Museum and lots of fun! Of course we dropped $$$$ at the gift shop. We then left at 1pm for South Dakota ..Mitchell, The Home of The Corn Palace. The Highway is level and smooth ,you can see for miles ahead of you ..speed limit is 70 in Minnesota and 75 in South Dakota. I drove at 60mph and everyone passed me but I was relaxed and also got GREAT Mileage averaging 12-14 mpg,which I think is great for towing a 29 footer. We arrived at R & R Campground right off RT 90. This is a Pass Port America Park, only $16.00/nite which includes 3point hook-up,cable,Wi Fi, swimming pool too. Beautiful campground, the hostess was such a sweet lady and helpful with local maps and attractions. We decided to stay 2 nights because of the past 2- 300 mile days(actually675 total) and we are tired and decide to kick back for an extra day. Check out the album for the past 2 days. http://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/SpamMuseum#
God Bless...AirstreamHobo & Carol

The Great Circus Parade .....2009

July 12,Sunday, Let me sum it up for the last 3 days...FABULIOUS!!! I was a little kid at the Circus!!
July 10,Friday, Carol and I went to the waterfront to see circus wagons. The field was full of them and also a circus was playing. I hung out taking snapshots of all the beautiful colors of wagons. We then sat around the waterfront watching the boats.

July 11, Sat, They were going to hitch up the wagons to the horses for a trial run around the field. It was fun watching them hitch them up with their pretty harnesses to the wagons. We then walked around the waterfront seeing all the sights.We spent 4 hours there today. We saw a wedding taking place in one of the buildings(very expensive $$$$$$$)

July 12,Sunday,Sunny and Beautiful!!! The day I been waiting for!!!! We arrived at 9:30 am down town looking for a spot to park and sit. We went to Water St. for a good spot, the garage there charged $10.00 for parking, since the van was a little high,the man left us park on the first floor. This made it easy to walk back for food & drinks when needed. The streets were lined with people on both sides. We took a place along the crosswalk when they close the street down. The sun was hot!!! Then the sun moved behind a building and we were cool. We waited 4 hours for the parade to begin. Believe me it was worth it, we just watch the sights and people hang out. When the streets closed ,the kids came out to the street with chalk and made circles and put their name in it. Some even laid down and traced their bodies too!! I ask why are they doing it? The Policeman told us it's tradition for the kids to do this and hope...Get This... They hope that a horse or elephant poops in their circle. This gives them Bragging Rights!! Hee..Hee.. What a great time we had...

Well it's 1:30 here come the Motorcycle Cops..the full width of the street lights and sirens on!! The Parade now Starts!!!! When the Color Guard comes ..all rise and applaud the ServiceMen & Ladies for their Service..Very Patriotic!!! Then Bands..Clowns..Wagons..Galore...come for the next 2 hours...Awesome Horse Teams from all over America come to pull these Wagons. Some wagons have ..a Giraffe..Lion..Yellow Tigers ..White Tigers..monkeys..Kangaroos and 2 groups of Elephants walking!! Just like the Old Circus Parades that used to parade our streets of yesteryear!!! The Parade ends with a full width of Street Machine Cleaners. Awesome Day...Thank You who ever put on this Parade!! I wasn't Disappointed!!! Look for my Pictures!! http://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/TheGreatAmericanCircusParade#5357798044401719810
Off to the West Tomorrow!!! ...Stay Tune...God Bless AirstreamHobo & Carol

The Great Circus Parade is Today................

Stay tuned , I am ready to go and stake out my parade spot..3 1/2 miles to choose from in downtown Milwaukee. Some chairs have been there for 3 days. The camera is ready and waiting for 1:30 start time. The wagons and horses were beautiful on saturday's practice drills. I am just waiting for the REAL PARADE!!! See ya Later....AirstreamHobo

July 8, Wednesday, Today we drove 50 miles to The House on the Rock. My GPS took me on back roads but short to there, beautiful drive, this state has great roads...NO POTHOLES...We arrived at noon but the complete ticket(3 buildings admissions). The House was first, all made of rocks and lots of rooms to see, very dark, maybe so you don't see the dust? Lots of carpet on floor,walls & ceiling. the ceilings were low so maybe this protected the tall visitors. We saw the infinity room with a hallway that points out way over the trees into a narrow hallway as you walk. When you get out to near the end, there is a window square on the floor to look straight down ,you are above the trees.( I looked for a little....)

Then the 2nd and 3rd buildings were collections of everything...and I mean everything...Butterflies,guns,dolls,doll houses,china,aviation,old cars, a town street of small stores decorated like wise..barber shop,fire house, snack bar, jewelry.Etc.. Then a room with a big whale with all things with water..ships, fish,naval items, Small & Big models of ships. Then a circus theme area,guns, etc, Just so many things to see. The best was the world's largest Merry go Round with almost 300 horse/figurines with 20,000 lights. Also thousands of Horses from merry go rounds. Hundreds of angels all over the ceiling just floating. Musical rooms everywhere, you recieved tokens when you bought your ticket to put in machines as you go along to see the mechanical instruments play....You have to see this place to believe the oddity of these collections. I did buy a book so I can review the history of this place. We finished the tour at 6pm ..6 hour tour all self guided...Carol and I am Tired...Head home and hit the sack.

July 9,Thursday. We needed to do laundry today, so we did it and then left at 1pm for Milwaukee to stay at courtesy parking at an airstream member's house. He gave me directions to his place. Bob & Heidi Manak were waiting for us to arrive. He directed me into his driveway along the house. Would you believe ...30 amp ..water..cable.tv (did you know Michael Jackson Died?) and also wi-fi. We unhooked and talked a bit and Heidi made a Mexican Casserol for us to enjoy....WOW What HOSTS!! I didn't expected the Red Carpet!! After supper ,Bob showed me the way to downtown to the waterfront to see the circus area. I got info on tomorrow's activities and plan to return with camera in hand... Back to the Hosts...time for zzzzz.. See my Album ..I finally made updates...Circus..House on the Rocks...Rally Fun .. http://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/HouseOnTheRock#
God Bless ...AirstreamHobo & Carol

July 7, Tuesday, Over to the circus museum again...Free Admission.... We wanted to see the Tiger show and the one ring circus again. Both were very good. There was a much bigger crowd today,but still less than 100. I got to do a first today!!! I help feed water to the elephants, they drink 40 gallons a day. The trainer left us water them, awesome...They sure suck it in!!! I was waiting for them to spray me with their trunk, but they didn't.

After the shows , we had lunch here again, hey it's GOOD!! Plus I didn't want to cook today!! We saw Joanne & Felix again, they slept in the museum parking lot overnight( free). We then went back to Devils Lake Camp but first stopped at the beach and took in the sights...Bikinis ..kids...boaters..did I say bikinis? I may be old but my eye sight still works. Now back to camp..call the kids..rest then supper over the grill. There are lots of families here enjoying this fine park. Tomorrow we plan to see House on the Rock...Till Then....God Bless...AirstreamHobo & Carol

Loading the Wagons!!!

July 6, Monday, Todays plans are to go to the Baraboo Circus Museum, we arrive shortly after 9 am. Carol stays in the museum, I walk fast over to the back lot...no visitors allowed? But the workers all had a red shirt on, guess what color I had on? Red ...Too! So no one said anything while I took pictures. The men were pulling wagons onto flat bed trailers for shipment to The Great Circus Parade in Milwaukee this sunday. You bet I will be There!! The men were using a Cat Bulldozer to move the wagons, the operator sure knew what he was doing. He pushed them all on in short order. There were 10 wagons to go today..total of 72 by thursday.

I then went back to Carol, to see the museum. Carol saw a clown put on make-up ( when is the last time she saw that?) . We then went to a childs circus show, the guest kids were the stars of the show...fun fun fun. Then back to the museum to see posters from long ago. Around the corner peeked Joanne Olshefski and Felix, they had just arrived. So we went to all the shows together and had lunch too.

There is something planned every hour here, circus show, tiger show, elephant rides after the show, wagon history stories(most of the museum hall was empty of the wagons because of the parade). The volunteers here are most gracious and know alot of circus history. Lunch was good here too, unless you ate Cotton Candy and Popcorn before lunch. The shows were Top Quality!! The whole day admission was only $14.95/adults and we got return tickets for tomorrow too. We missed some today so we will return to see the rest and buy some circus posters. Maybe a trick or two for the grandkids too.

The day was Beautiful!! 75-80* sunny and blue skies. Back to the camper for supper and rest. I did manage to snap over 600 pictures too!!! Wanna see Them??? On the way home we saw the trucking company with all the circus wagons in their lot waiting to leave tomorrow, I pulled in to take a few more pictures(grin) The Colors are Bright.

**** Sorry no pictures for a while till I get faster e-mail service ...just stories for now!!!

God Bless....AirstreamHobo & Carol